In the last week, hundreds of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in the largest and most radical nationwide protests since the revolution of 1979. While the protest were sparked by the high cost of living and widespread unemployment, the protests quickly spread throughout the country’s many major cities including Tehran, Shiraz, Kermanshah, Rashd, Mashad, Esfehan and Bukan and quickly became anti-government.

While the world witnessed large anti-government protests in Iran both in 1999 and 2009, the current protests are significantly different, not only in scale, but also in its radical demand for the overthrow of the Islamic Regime. Some of the most popular slogans have been “death to Rouhani” the current reformist president, “death to Khamenei” the un-elected Supreme Leader, “death to the Islamic Regime” “No more Islamic Regime” and “Freedom, independence, Iranian Republic.”

As well for the first time since the revolution, Iranians have taken down posters and pictures of top Regime officials including Khamenei, which has been unheard of in the past 40 years. The Regime has lashed back attacking, arresting and killing protestors. There have been reports of at least three (3) protestors being shot to death while many have been arbitrarily arrested. The Regime has also sent out mass text messages to Iranians, warning them that anyone that joins the protests will be treated as a criminal. The Regime has also cut off access to the internet in an attempt to prevent protestors to send videos and messages to the outside world.

At a time when hundreds of thousands of Iranians are risking their lives by taking to the streets and protesting against the brutal Islamic dictatorship, an Iranian born Canadian Liberal MP Majid Jowhari took to Twitter to declare the Islamic Regime in Iran an “elected government”, keeping in line with the Regime propaganda that a dictatorship that has stayed in power for almost 40 years, by using sheer force and violence against its people is “elected” by the people.

What Mr. Jowhari seems to have forgotten is that Ali Khamenei, Iran’s so-called Supreme Leader was appointed by the Assembly of Experts and has been in power since 1989! Khamenei is the head of State and has full control over the judiciary, armed forces, state television and has the final say on all major decisions in the country.

The current president Hassan Rouhani was s[elected] from among a total of 4(four) highly vetted candidates whose participation in the s[election] was approved by the Guardian Council. It must be noted that women are not allowed to run for the presidency in Iran, and neither are any candidates who do not have a longstanding and proved loyalty to the Islamic Regime.

It appears Mr. Jowhari’s definition of “elected government” includes an appointment dictator who has been ruling Iran with an iron fist for almost 30 years, and a president who has sworn his loyalty to the very Regime that is attacking, arresting and killing protestors on Iran’s streets. As a Canadian Iranian I am deeply troubled that an individual with such an alarming capacity to twist the truth and carry out the propaganda of one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world is an MP representing Canadians and Canadian values.